Children come in contact with the criminal justice system either as victims or witnesses to a crime or as children in conflict with law (CICL). As CICL, they could be alleged of, accused or recognised as having broken the law by committing a crime. According to the National Crime Records Bureau (NCRB) Report 2021, India recorded a total number of 1,49,404 instances of crimes against children in 2021 a rise of over 16 per cent from the previous year. In terms of percentage, the top categories under crime against children were kidnapping and abduction, followed by cases registered under the POCSO Act.
Further, the NCRB report revealed that of the total cases, 53,874 were registered under POCSO Sections. Sexual offences against children shows a steady ascent, with 47,221 such cases being recorded in 2020, and 47,335 cases in 2019. In 2019, as many as 32,269 cases were registered across the country, while the 2021 report registered a decline of 3.5 per cent recording 31,170 cases. The Criminal Justice system of any country broadly refers to agencies of the government charged with enforcing law, adjudicating crime, and correcting criminal conduct. The main objective of the criminal justice system is ’deterrence’, ie., to punish the ’transgressors and the criminals’ and to maintain law and order in the society. Globally, children and young people are routinely exposed to various forms of violence if they are before the criminal justice system. They are at risk of physical and psychological abuse, sexual assault, and other harms, including inadequate educational opportunities, poor and outdated vocational training. They face several challenges including mental, emotional, and behavioural disorders.
Children, who are victims of violence or exposed to violence during childhood, are more likely to have difficulty in school, abuse drugs or alcohol, act aggressively, suffer from depression or other mental health problems and engage in criminal behaviour as adults. [Extracted, with edits and revisions from ”Child Rights in the Criminal Justice System: Need for Law Reform” written by Dr. Asha Bajpai published in the Journal of the National Human Rights Commission, India).
What is the primary objective of the criminal justice system as mentioned in the passage?
Correct Answer :
Punishment of the offenders
Solution :
The correct answer is: Punishment of the offenders
Step-by-step Explanation:
1. Analyze the Question:
The question asks for the primary objective of the criminal justice system as explicitly mentioned in the provided text passage.
2. Locate Relevant Context in the Passage:
Scanning the passage for terms like "main objective" or "primary objective" of the criminal justice system leads to the following sentence:
"The main objective of the criminal justice system is ’deterrence’, ie., to punish the ’transgressors and the criminals’ and to maintain law and order in the society."
3. Evaluate the Options:
- Rehabilitation of offenders: Not stated as the primary objective in the passage.
- Punishment of the offenders: Directly corresponds to "to punish the 'transgressors and the criminals'", which is identified as the main objective.
- Reformation of the offenders: Not stated as the primary objective in the passage.
- Protection of victims from the offender: While important, it is not explicitly listed as the primary objective in the passage text.
Therefore, based strictly on the text, the primary objective is the punishment of offenders.
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